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Internationally renowned surgeon Dr. Zane Cohen hangs up his scrubs

Colorectal surgeon at Mount Sinai Hospital estimates he’s treated 9,000 patients in the four decades since he first picked up a scalpel.

Dr. Zane Cohen, the internationally renowned colorectal surgeon who was the face of calm in the firestorm surrounding former mayor Rob Ford's surgery, is retiring on his 48th anniversary. (Carlos Osorio / Toronto Star)

Dr. Zane Cohen, centre, at work as a colorectal surgeon. (Annie Tong/Mount Sinai)

Cohen’s parents were immigrants from Russia, who wanted him to be an accountant, a lawyer, a dentist or a doctor.

“Those were my choices,” he says with a laugh. “I think I was pushed — definitely pushed — towards medicine.”

After medical school at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine, he did his residency in the Gallie Program at the University of Toronto.

From 1990 to 2006, he was the Surgeon-in-Chief at Mount Sinai Hospital. He was also Chairman of the Division of General Surgery at the University of Toronto.

He remembers his first surgery.

“It was nerve-racking because you’re going from a student with a lot of backup to somebody who’s absolutely responsible,” he says. “You really switch.”

The patient also knew he was Cohen’s first surgery.

“And he was nervous,” he says. But the surgery went well, and Cohen still sees the patient because he comes back for follow-up visits.

When Cohen began as a resident, he says he was a resident in the hospital.

“So we were on every other night,” he says. “And when we were supposedly off we still carried a pager at home for our patients. How trainees do things now is completely different than it was.”

It’s a completely different culture now with younger surgeons, he says.

“They want more of their own time, which if I had to ask for more time in the ’70s I would have been thrown out of the program probably,” he says with a laugh.

Over the years, Cohen’s patients (he estimates there are about 9,000) have shown their gratitude to him in ways he says he didn’t expect.

Patients have named their children after him, sent cards, flowers, photos and made donations.

One particular patient’s family handed him a dozen red roses, and two envelopes. The first envelope held a card for the Jewish New Year, and the second had a cheque for $500,000.

“My jaw dropped to the floor,” he says.

That money went on to fund state-of-the-art equipment and start the Zane Cohen Centre for Digestive Diseases.

“Dr. Cohen, is above all, someone who is deeply committed to his patients,” said Dr. Gary Newton, president and CEO of Sinai Health System.

“His skill as a surgeon, his determination as a researcher in the area of (inflammatory bowel disease) and inherited colorectal cancer and his warmth and compassion have all contributed to the immense respect he has garnered from around the world. His clinical and academic leadership have been transformative.”

Apart from being a world renowned surgeon, Cohen was the face of calm during the media storm surrounding former mayor Rob Ford’s surgery in 2014.

“It was a very unique experience,” he says. “That kind of spotlight with the cameras in your face. I’ve never experienced it before.”

On that Tuesday morning, he went through his familiar routine one last time. He washed his hands in the sink by the operating room. He put on his green scrubs and pale cream gloves.

In the operating room, he talked quietly with his colleagues as he operated, giving direction and answering questions.

Around 6 p.m. that evening, it came to an end. The final nip had been tucked, the scrubs discarded and the gloves came off.

His wife, he says, is happy he’s retiring from surgery but doesn’t want him hanging around the house all day. So he won’t be stopping completely. He’ll still see patients and do consultations.

He takes with him the adulation and the humbling experiences that come with hard surgeries.

“It’s the best job in the world,” Cohen says. “I’ve been lucky to have great people who look after me and support me. And now it’s time to pass the baton, so to speak.”

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